EIRNS—The chairman of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Gholam-Hossein Shafei, said Iran and China can open a new chapter in mutual economic and trade cooperation by tapping into the potentialities of the Silk Road.

"The tourism industry [sic], investment in transportation projects, energy, telecommunications and other industrial activities are among the areas of cooperation between Iran and China," said Gholam-Hossein Shafei as quoted by the Persian-language Khabar Online yesterday, reported Iran Front Page.

Iran-China trade has been growing since Iran and involved nations reached an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program (JCPOA) in October 2015. China National Petroleum Corporation has secured a 30% share in the $4.8 billion contract involving Iran, France, and China to develop Phase 11 of the giant South Pars Gas Field.

Last year, China signed a contract with Iran to extend a $1.5 billion loan to finance the electrification of a 926-km railroad from Tehran to the northeastern city of Mashhad. This was the first foreign financing in an Iranian project in the post-JCPOA period.

Gholam-Hossein Shafei was recently appointed as vice chairman of the Silk Road Chamber of International Commerce (SRCIC), Iran’s Financial Tribune reported on Jan. 9, saying Iran can play a crucial role in China’s New Silk Road initiative, given its access to extensive delivery routes linking the Middle East and Eurasia, SRCIC reported.

The Iran Front Page report quoted Shafei saying, "[E]conomic analysts have predicted that the world’s economic hub will center on the China-India border after 2025, and one of the areas of trade transactions, until then, will be the Silk Road. Till that time, China, Iran and India can start new cooperation."

SRCIC is an international non-governmental organization aiming to promote the renaissance of the Silk Road and to enable business participation in the investment and trade opportunities it offers.